Back and Forth
by EnchantedToReadYou
Summary: Klainerz is the shipname the fans give their OTP, the rock band's singer Blaine and the dancer Kurt, and it sticks. Having a few people ship them does not bother them and has long become routine. Taking advantage of this situation by being flirty in interviews or dancing extra close, is part of Blaine's plan on revenge, while Kurt attempts to help out and not to fall for him.
1. You shook me all night long

_This story is dedicated to the nicest lil nugget Leo (dressedupinlights), who hadn't received a fic to her fanart so I felt obligated as a friend to change that._

_Also, a BIG thanks to the wonderful and magical Afterdalton for being my beta. _

_(This fic will have 6 chapters at most and will be finished as this and The Lucky One are my priorities. Now ENJOY because we need Joy after Glee ending.)_

* * *

**Back and Forth**

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 14 minutes**

**Audition for new dancers for the tour starts today. Who's excited? #iam**

* * *

Kurt takes one deep breath - Air rushes into his lungs, shakily exhaled again at the open of his eyes. His hands are clammy, his feet as cold as the sweat clinging to his forehead and right now his whole body is stiff. Kurt Hummel is a dancer, the music pulses is in time with his heartbeat and the rhythm flows in his blood but despite that, his flaws make him more human than dancer. Nervousness grips his muscles tight and conjures images of every scenario of him failing and he can't fail today. Not today. This is not just a street gig. This is not him being a member of a crew that once again dismisses his talents with the excuse that 'he should let others shine as well', which essentially equals them never wanting to hear him complain about being in the background and he is sick of that. This is the opportunity for a well-paying job, a step into spotlight.

An opportunity Kurt might have already blown because he just missed his cue and his movements are hurried to catch up with the choreography. The music is a remix, slowed-down versions of rock songs that are still fast paced enough to keep him on edge. Once he can take a moment to catch his breath as the first song dwindles down as he is crouched low, he chances a look at the employers sitting across from him. What he sees makes him falter instantly but since none of the four care, Kurt can feel his nervousness vanish and be replaced with a deep churning anger. They can't care about his dancing, since the guitarist, Jeffrey, is texting, the drummer and only woman, Santana, is checking him out like he is something she can devour, Nick, the bassist seems bored enough to fall asleep because that at least would bring more excitement and finally the dancer, Brittany is currently distracted by a butterfly.

All in all, this isn't so different from all his past job interviews. The only difference is that this is his dream and he is here to dance, not to be a barista, or a secretary or anything, really, and he should use that to his advantage. He will make Jeffrey look up from his phone, he will make the drummer faint in her seat, and after the song Mr. Bored will beg on his knees for Kurt to stay. He doesn't know if Brittany will ever favor looking at him to the butterfly, though.

Kurt Hummel will get this job because this is what he truly is meant to do, unlike the other things need drove him to try to earn money with. A rock band is not what his style is targeted for but it is a start. If only they give him a chance. He knows that he is the last because he exchanged a few polite words with other contestants but that was no reason to pay him no attention. Especially considering that the other dancers hadn't looked too happy exiting the room.

Still moving despite their disinterest, Kurt clears his throat, then says,"I'm still dancing.", which sounds more like a 'fuck you if you don't watch what I do'.

It does have an effect on Nick who looks slightly less bored and Brittany who suddenly is extremely alert, but not so much on the other two. This only serves to fuel his anger, which now works as the motor for his muscles. It makes Kurt finally begins to move as planned to the music, bending down low before rising up with his hips swaying and knowing he can show his entire repertoire with the song as he connects to the beat. The song slows down, his movements becoming more deliberate, open, his expression matching the melancholic theme, his whole body moves fluidly – then stops right as the music comes to an abrupt halt.

Kurt falters, tripping as gracefully as he can, playing it off as a dance move, when really, he knows that it's to no avail. He has missed his cue, he does not fit into this genre, but worse than tripping is knowing that if they let the song play he could have proven his worth against all odds. Now he won't be able to show how quick he is at learning choreo, or how diverse he is, because not even a minute in the music was stopped and so was his job interview. He gulps as he unbends his body into a standing position and tries to disperse the self-loathing thoughts by telling himself that he is secretly glad that they stopped him then. Two minutes in and his interpretation of contemporary dancing to rock music would surely have gained him laughter and that only if they had actually looked up. They don't understand his dancing anyway, that is what he will convince himself to fall asleep tonight. Kurt awkwardly straightens his rumpled clothes to avoid seeing the rejection in three faces at once.

"Blainerz, eye-candy over here was not finished with his performance." The Latina says into the deafening silence.

At first he doesn't realize that someone - no - not someone - the lead singer of the band is right behind him. He has been stopped by Blaine Anderson himself, which is another level of embarrassment. He can write this day down as the day he hoped the ground would part and his old friend Satan would spare him the shame of meeting number four of "Cosmopolitans Sexiest Men 2014" and being rejected after 30 seconds of dancing.

Blaine Anderson, aka Blainerz, takes that moment to place a hand on Kurt's shoulder, so gentle it can only be meant as an easy let-down. When Kurt looks up, a toothy smile is settled on the celebrity's face and his honey colored eyes light up as if he has been told the single most greatest joke. Or like he is amused by Kurt's dancing.

Blaine Anderson looks unlike what Kurt always sees on the news, without the dark eyeliner rimming his eyes and his hair curled over his forehead instead of being swept back with gel. He looks more like a guy Kurt would want to introduce to his father, instead of the badboy that whispers filthy promises into his ears when he fantasizes. Then again, in either of those versions Blaine deserves a spot higher than number four.

"Hello there. I am so sorry to interrupt your performance." Blaine turns around to the trio. "I just needed to intervene since someone in this room does not think it is necessary to pay attention to people we want to hire. Isn't that right, Jeff?"

The man on the phone grunts in acknowledgement, not raising his head until Santana snatches it right out of his hands. "Ey! I was winning!"

"Blainerz is right, Eyecandy should be far more important than your stupid- is that Snake? Are you seriously missing those hips and that ass for Snake? Damn Jeffrey Bieber, I know your mind got stuck when you were eight, but your boyfriend tried to convince me your libido at least works."

"It does." Mr. Bored quips in from the other side.

Jeff, a grown man, a member of a rock band, begins whining."I was so close to beating Nick's highscore."

Kurt watches him pouts over his stolen phone until Nick consoles him while the Latina hurls insults in Spanish. He has to admit he prefers that over the lifeless interviewers that have hastily tried to come up with an excuse for not hiring him that weren't 'I am sorry we are super homophobic bigots'.

"Guys, come on - Don't scare him off right at the beginning. From what I could tell he's really talented." Anderson says, making Kurt fidget."You are, aren't you?"

"Uhm- What? I mean, yes, I think I have what it takes for this job. I am hard working and I do very well at learning new choreography. I also really enjoy your music, so-" He stops when he notices that this is not that type of job interview, where assets matter more than his dancing .

Be confident, back straight, make eye contact. It is easy to relax when Blaine Anderson is not like a ruthless businessman or even the rockstar he truly is, but soft and happy. He even looks like he really wants him to succeed. Kurt wants to leave a good impression, even if he doubted that he'd ever fit in with that band until now.

Blaine glares at the other members, who all smile back mockingly."How about you can show your talent and everyone actually pays attention?"

"That would be great." Kurt grins, feigning courage.

He waits for Blaine to turn up the music he has prepared, but once the man is at the recorder, he ejects the CD and takes one lying beside the device instead. Unknown pieces are harder to perform to and he wonders why Blaine would change the music until the first song's beat kicks in. It is a song of the band and he will not dance alone it seems as Blaine comes over and gestures for him to start. Now, Kurt is back to the state he was in at the beginning of the audition, palms and forehead sweaty and limbs locked but this time Blaine at his side, singing along when his recorded self starts to. The song is fast paced and soft in the verse, then turns harsh and needy in the chorus. The lyrics circle around the protagonist's jealous monster scratching on the insides to be let out and find his lover and his unfulfilled desire.

Of that, Kurt knows plenty. His muscles finally give in to the rhythm after some seconds, and he circles Blaine with a hand on his waist, dragging along slowly before standing behind him and pretending to scratch down his front. It doesn't feel weird, not even when he then slides down Blaine's front close enough to feel fabric and their skin brush. When Blaine attempts to grab him, Kurt spins away, balancing his weight in a Relevé, he regrets doing right after. This is a rock song, not Swan Lake and he probably shouldn't go all out. Kurt expects to falter seeing Blaine's laughing face but when he looks all he remembers is the burning heat of Blaine's eyes and the magnetic pull of them. The music pulsates in his muscles. Like a puppeteer it makes them stretch and contract until Kurt is back against Blaine's chest. The hands are hard and needy as they try to pull him closer and he hears Blaine's voice close against his ear singing 'There's no need to deny it, come here and just try it,' and Kurt slips away once more. It's a back and forth between them, a push and pull, closeness and distance, while Kurt's body moves without his instruction. By the end of the last verse he is panting against Blaine's lips, everything he did forgotten in favor of this blank space in his head. Blaine's Adam's apple moves as he gulps and with the flicker of his eyes, Kurt catches Blaine looking at his lips longingly. The background music fades out with the last words 'give in to me' still echoing, though he is not sure if it's in the song or in every fiber of himself.

They don't give in, they don't kiss.

It's not often that Kurt shivers under the attention of other men, but this one's gaze makes him want to puff out his chest, pull in his stomach and look through batted eyelashes. He feels Blaine's eyes even when their moment is interrupted by whistling and they fall apart.

"Alright, for a woman who likes lady parts this display had more effect on me than it should've." Santana fans herself with her hand. "I think you are in...or that Blainerz will be in you if you keep up that dancing."

From behind him he can hear soft snickering that lessens the innuendo. Blaine's hand finds Kurt's shoulder once more. "I have to agree to you becoming one of our show dancers, Kurt. I really think the people will like what you do and how we look together. It clearly does the song good when it's not always a woman grinding on us."

Together. They probably do look good together and as alluring as that sounds, there are more pressing things on his mind, like finally getting a job other than the one he has at Macy's.

"He did have this ballet thing going on though," Jeff says, now finally sounding professional, if to Kurt's disadvantage. "Does that really fit in with what we want for this tour?"

"I liked it. It's not the same old boring hip grinding that everyone and their grandmother expects." Blaine says.

"Jeff is right," Nick leans back in his chair and taps his forehead with his pen. "It looked classical and we make rock music but it did not look as out of place as I expected. Maybe if he worked with Brittany to merge those styles and make it more coherent-?"

"I'm sorry but for me, personally, it looks too frilly."

Santana nodded along to what Jeff said. "A little, yes."

"No," Brittany finally looks up from the butterfly and says with the conviction of someone who has actually watched him dance,"He is magical and his dancing is too!"

If this were any other group of employers, Kurt would have just nodded along and stayed quiet. Here, after being treated like he was nonexistent until Blaine admonished them, he feels less like he needs to defend himself before they all turn on him. This job is what could improve his life. He would finally be on a real stage and earn good money and he just _needs_ this.

"I am pretty sure that I could do any choreography you showed me in less than an hour. Really, I've been dancing my whole life and I easily adapt."

"But do you think that how you danced right now would fit this band?" Blaine asks kindly. Kurt only then realizes that his hand has left his shoulder. One look at the people in front of him, and their raised eyebrows, makes him sceptical but when he turns, Blaine is smiling at him.  
"Yes, I do."

Blaine gestures over to Brittany."Then you just need to blow the choreography part out of the water."

Kurt nods with determination. The same determination that make him ace the choreography without huge flaws. Brittany is practically beaming at the end of it, before she jumps into his arms and he can luckily hold her."You did it. I told you he was magical!" She kisses him on his cheek before climbing down

Blaine's smile widens, making his features even more handsome. "Well, all in favor of Kurt being our newest member may now raise hands."

Everyone minus Jeff does, some more enthusiastically than others and just like that, Kurt is in. He has a job with one of the most promising upcoming bands of the year and he will go on US tour with them through all the states. The street performer has officially landed a permanent spot on stage. Dancing every night with Blaine Anderson of all people.  
"Welcome to Phenomenon." Blaine says with that damn deep voice he uses for singing. It makes Kurt want to jump right into his arms...or his bed.

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 1 hour**

**Heey Phenomsiez, we have two new Lookers as Dancers!World, get to know KURT HUMMEL &amp; MIKE CHANG!**

**Pic-twitter-Qhdlks**

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Kurt gulps, not quite ready to look at the photo someone must have taken at the audition just a day prior. Instead his stomach turns over about something else. People have seen it, have seen him and the retweets are swelling in numbers while he is barely keeping up with someone outside of his small social circle even knowing him. Kurt Hummel was never liked much by the majority and yet being out there with no way to protect himself feels exhilarating and awful at the same time. Hundreds of people have liked the tweet or have commented positive, if not a bit objectifying words, but among that there is hate that is a bit too familiar not to hurt. They call him a fag, call the band a bunch of sin loving homosexuals or they just say he is fugly, which is so lazy Kurt rolls his eyes at it. Still it stings and he comes to realize how different this job will be from dancing on the streets or in front of a mirror.

"Feeling the fame go to your head already?"

Kurt thankfully turns around and away from the screen where people don't see a neutral line but take the two sides they dare doing in the internet. Mercedes grins at him and moves to ruffle his hair, which he blocks with ninja like grace.

"I would rather not be thrown in the pond with leeches and sharks after not even having appeared on stage with the band."

Mercedes leans over his shoulder, squinting at the laptop. He supposes he should have expected her reading those texts and getting angry but that doesn't brace him for her screaming. "'Just another fag joining the bunch of homos. And a female fag guy at that. Noone listens to fairy music! #fags #throwinup ?' That RusseltheHussle guy really gets in danger of me ripping off his balls." Mercedes gives him a sharp look. "Kurt, this is crazy, people are so obsessed with the band. This girl wants to marry you because she says then she could be friends with Blaine and says she'd turn you straight. Someone even says he already wrote fanfiction about you and the other newbie, Mike. And this guy wants to have sex with you after seeing this one picture. "

"Is he hot?" Kurt asks sarcastically.

"Kurt!"

"Oh I know." He leans back into the chair with a sigh. "And I haven't even been on a stage with them. For all they know I could suck."

"Right? It's crazy what those people say on the net just because they can hide behind a cover name and an icon of a dog or something."

The laptop is closed with a final click before Kurt turns around to his best friend. If this will be his work then he will face the fact that a lot of fans will hate him but at least he gets to do what he is passionate about.

"This is nothing I haven't lived through before, Cedes." He turns around in his chair and immediately changes the topic when he sees his friend's sad expression. "So, have you come to help me with the perfect wardrobe for tonight?"

Her eyes light up at the mention of their favorite topic and he clumsily tries to keep up with her as she drags him out of the chair and right in front of his clothes rack. "You called and here I am. Whatever you do tonight, you need to look good doing it. What if there are paps? What if there are cute boys? What if there are cute looking paps, taking pictures of you dancing with cute looking boys and you wear something atrocious?"

"I am pretty sure it is impossible to look ugly with my wardrobe," Kurt says.

In response she holds up two colors that are truly horrifying combined and nothing says anything as clearly as her raised eyebrow and Kurt's flinch. They still have a long evening to pick out the right outfit for the weirdest possible place to get to know his coworkers.

* * *

Snipersss is a club that is as innocent as a high end restaurant on the outside and fits the band's image perfectly on the inside. Meaning it is very dark, very loud and Kurt feels very out of place wearing a black button up shirt with small red stripes that no one will see in the shady light and now, nothing blends in with his narrow red jeans. He sticks out in here, again for his bolder taste of fashion, but not in a positive way and its not like the leather pockets on his jeans could make a dent in a bar where at least half wear leather from bottom to top. Twice Kurt is asked for his ID, he's twenty-three thank you very much, and even worse, none of the band members are here yet so he's stuck waiting alone.

All of the other patrons are sitting in their booths or at the bar, giving him wary looks he is pretty sure he mirrors and they do not look like the dancing crowd. He is so out of place. If the band is dressed like most of the other people here, no amount of deodorant will cover his nervous sweating. He knows tonight he will need a bit of liquid courage to loosen some of his muscles and his tongue, because if his suspicions are right his character will stick out in the group of rockers much more than his fashion choice does. It's a first chance to meet all the members of the band and the crew and maybe try to talk a bit more with Blaine, which Kurt thinks very much warrants alcohol. According to the net Blaine is 'a hard rocker with the softest puppy inside', a 'true music icon' and a 'single ready to mingle (with guys, sorry girls)'. Kurt is not sure what to make of the last information but he is not freaking out about it. While dancing together was hot, Kurt needs to keep his job and not let love quarrels get in between.

The lights on the bar in the center of the club are tinted stark red and pulse with the beat. The two bartenders are both shirtless and bop their heads up and down to the music as they serve drinks, not bothering if they spill something. Why would they when the prices of the alcohol are atrocious? At least they are sight for sore eyes, Kurt decides. Just when he is about to order something strong for the start, his body is held in place by thin arms embracing his shoulders from behind. He has the instinct to struggle, years of bullying sometimes coming back to him when he is taken by surprise, just as the intruder spins him around and he recognizes the person when the lights have flashed often enough to.

"Kurtsy! You made it here tonight," Brittany, yells excitedly.

She is dressed in a tight leather vest over a hot pink shirt and a black miniskirt combined with knee high socks and boots. This is what fits the club and he feels even more ridiculous for not checking up on the location first.

"Lord Tubbington said black is the color of the evening and he was right as always. I am glad we match, but not like a fire match, more like friends match." She stops, her face in a frown, "But then again on this app called Tinder I get matches like all the time from girls and boys and its icon looks like fire."

"Totally," Kurt says after seconds of complete confusion, but he wants to be social tonight and get along with everyone. And as different as she is, she seems genuinely nice and will be one of the four dancers he will spent the most time with, so he should get used to her special brand of thinking. "I like your outfit as well, black was definitely a good idea," he chooses to go with.

Brittany grins and he knows he did good."I know! It will fit nicely with what Santana is probably wearing tonight and she is hot in any color, right?" Kurt moves his head in what could be interpreted as a nod with a lot of imagination and she luckily takes it as such and moves on. "Are we the first of the group?"

"It would seem that way. Maybe we are a bit early." Not knowing what else to say, Kurt asks her, "I actually wanted to just get a drink and wait for the others. Do you want one as well?"

"Santana said I should wait for her before I drink anything that makes my body feel all airy and free." Brittany explains, again as if Kurt knows what she's talking about. This time he at least has a vague idea that she means alcohol, which, if true, would be something he worries about with her, too. "But I won't say no to you buying me a glass of soda."

He does buy her one but he can't say he is happy about that fact, since technically that was meant as an offer. She overenthusiastically hugs him and squeals when the drink is placed in front of her and that makes it a bit better.

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt raises his voice over the music as the gin tonic is beginning to settle warm in his stomach.

"Kurtsy, that already was a question."

"I," He takes another sip. "-suppose you're right. So can I take that as a yes or a no?"

Brittany's body sways to a Kiss song and with her eyes closed, she says,"Yes, yes, of course you can."

"Have you been with the band for long? And can you tell me what to expect because I admit that I am not sure I know much about the members or their music and the way we will dance. I think they said that we should try and work out a choreography together, but I'd like to know what to expect first."

At once, she stops swaying, her eyes opening wide as she stares at him. "You cannot be serious! Kurt!" Hearing her say his real name is weirdly making him feel guilty before she can even continue. "You are not a fan of the band? You are going to be touring with them in a month and- oh my god, you are a Pisces right?"

"Why, do Pisces tend to dislike rock music?"

"Don't joke around, this is serious!" She reaches forward and before Kurt can stop her, she has already downed his drink in one big gulp. "Okay you need a rundown and to come to my apartment and crash with me sometime this week. We will go over every song and every choreography of the last tour until the band's music goes over into your dance bone."

"My what?" Kurt asks. She completely renders him in a constant state of confusion. "And do I get a say in anything?"

"Not until your dancing bone is 100 percent Phenomenon."

For a second this is all too much; the loud, rhythmless music, the people in the bar and her. If he had gotten the job at Starbucks he'd at least have a uniform and a set order to completely blend in but here he feels just like he found another place he doesn't belong. As if noticing, Brittany squeezes his arm and looks at him softly.

"Hey, don't worry, we are one tight family in the band and you will be a great addition. I'll help you find those dance bones and then you will steal all the fans away from Blainerz because if I may be honest, he's better at singing than he is at dancing."

Kurt grins despite himself and it turns into a laugh that is very shortcut when he hears the lead singers voice much too closely, saying,"I heard that."

"You were intended to, Blainerz." Brittany replies with an ease that shows their close connection. "That is what you get for a) never letting me help you locate your dance bones and b) for not allowing Lord Tubbington to sleep in your jacket. You know he wants to so badly."

"I don't think Blainerz even has dance bones, Brit." Santana quips and gives Brittany a kiss on her cheek and slings her arms around her. "That, or they are buried very deeply. Maybe they can be located in his butt, where all the other bones have been shoved into in the past."

"Hahaha, classic comedy." Blaine says dryly before turning to face Kurt. "Hey, Kurt, please don't let them scare you off, they can be a bit much to take on a sober mind." He glances to the glass in front of Kurt and raises an eyebrow. "Or we were not so fashionably late and you already had a drink. Sorry, I wish I had a better excuse than that I had a fashion crisis. I see that wasn't the case with you though, you look great."

Unlike him, Blaine fits right into the ambience with his dark rimmed eyes and the black leather hugging his torso tightly. The rips in his gray jeans show bits of tattoos here and there and god, the spikes sticking out of his shoulder pads are bold enough to make Kurt want to steal the jacket for himself. He thinks about stating that Blaine looks very great as well but that feels weird to say to one of his employers.

"Fashion is always a good excuse if you ask me." Kurt says evadingly. "And I haven't been waiting long anyway. Most of it was spent talking to Brittany, so it wasn't too bad."

Blaine grins and Kurt notices the squint and shine of his eyes when he does. This softness of it is such a contrast to the toughness of the tattoos, the spikes, and the eyeliner.

"Now that you know Brit, I think it's time that you get to meet the rest of the band." Blaine says, gesturing over to the other new arrivals. "I swear, whatever you think of us can and will be proven wrong. So don't worry, new kid, you'll fit right in."

Kurt is then lead by Blaine's hand gaining warmth on his back; another contradiction to what he has expected. So is the loud cheering from the people already seated at a large table, greeting them in a way that reminds Kurt of his own friends. Some seating arrangement is discussed over the loud music while Kurt stands waiting, glad that he took the empty glass with him to hold onto. The couch has a u-form easily providing enough space for this many people, most of whom he has already met. He ends up wedged between Santana and the other newbie Mike, with Blaine sitting a few seats away to his left. Once they are all seated and comfortable, Blaine stands up and introduces them. Kurt answers with a small wave of his hands at those he hasn't met and then the conversation fortunately shifts away from them.

Soon that makes Mike and him the only people not engaged in conversation and Kurt can only imagine that he looks just as lost as Mike does. That changes when the bit of liquor gives him at least enough courage to talk to the new dancer and soon the strange mood between them fades in face of their similarities. Mike Chang, 25, is a professional dancer, graduated from Juilliard last year and he now wants an out from the small stages he usually worked at and this is the perfect opportunity and he is as new to this kind of dancing as Kurt. So overall, Mike is what Kurt has dreamt of being when he was young and naive. But they are both here now, so there is no room for jealousy.

Drinks are ordered, a Long Island for him, a beer for Mike. The first impression Kurt gets of Mike is that of softness and kindness, which calms Kurt down further, as both of them do not seem to fit in with the others. The fact that they still were chosen as dancers is a little soothing though. It makes it safe for Kurt to admit he only went to Columbus' Community College instead of a fancy university in New York, and that he shares a tiny apartment with his best friend Mercedes after finally making it to the Big Apple, but that he is also looking forward to being on tour. And that this would be his first paid job dancing after years of scraping every penny tourists threw at the group of street performers he had formerly danced for.

"Wait, did your crew perform at Times Square?" Santana chimes in, after Kurt laughingly tells Mike of the time he actually slipped on banana peel this one performance. She must see the shock in his eyes because her whole body turns to them and her smile turns wicked. "Oh my god, you did. I think I have you slipping on your ass on my phone somewhere, let me quickly find it."

"You can't be serious." He answers, reeling in much bitchier words, even though he doubts she would be bothered. "Why would you film this?"

"Whenever I feel bad, I just watch street performances to make me feel better about myself and I tend to film them to ridicule in the future. This one is up on YouTube so don't worry if I can't find it on here," She waves her phone, not even looking at him. "I will just search 'NY- banana dance slip' and we can all relive your finest moment."

"I've seen that, it's gold!" Jeff agrees from across the table. He is either a total lightweight or more than a few drinks in by then, judging by the volume and enthusiasm of his voice.

His outcry just leads to more people being interested in what quickly has turned into Kurt's public nightmare.  
"Seen what?" asks Tina, a petite Asian dancer with blue streaks in her hair.

Santana grins at Kurt teasingly, which slightly soothes the sting her snark and banter, before announcing to the whole table, "Banana dance slip. It showcases one of our newbs in his moment of glory as his ass gets intimate with New York's pavement when he dances."

"It was an accident." Mike says, looking at Kurt pityingly.

"So?" She is still scrolling through her phone files. "It is an accident no one should miss."

"Come on, Santana, be good." Blaine says. "Whatever you think you can show us to embarrass poor Kurt would never erase the memory of the time you were so drunk on stage, you wailed over your nail breaking on the guitar strings and then proceeded to sing a song about how lost things can never be returned. About your nail, a song about your nail, San."

Everyone but Mike and Kurt seems to have witnessed or heard the story and soon more details about the evening of Santana's drunken stage performance are shared, sometimes drowned out in roaring laughter that is contagious. In turn, she glares at whoever speaks, her arms crossed over her leather onesie that reminds Kurt of the Catwoman suit. Kurt almost believes her cold and bitchy facade if it wasn't for the smile slowly appearing on her lips and her fond eye roll when Brittany tries to defend her honor. Her arms drop after a while and while her glare is still pointed at Nick who is just ending his rendition of the song she performed said night. By now she is full on laughing.  
"Shall we all recall Blainerz' shiniest moments?" Santana finally cuts in. "I open the round with the night he tried to stage dive but instead crashed to the ground after the only guy who was willing to hold him up let him drop because he was too heavy." Kurt schools his face into a neutral expression, wanting not to laugh at this mental image because Blaine defended him earlier. "Or when he performed in his underwear after his jeans ripped in the middle of a show because of his bubbly butt. Or-"

"Or when I puked glitter in your bathtub after having a one night stand with this guy that apparently was part fairy, the way his skin was covered in a mass of pink glitter and what tasted like orange juice." Blaine tells them with a laugh and suddenly all the lingering malice of this game of embarrassment is gone with himself taking the reign. The smile he gives Kurt is encouraging and suddenly Kurt is no longer biting his lips but full blown laughing. "Oh god, or the time I tried to take a picture of the audience and apparently only captured my own nose and everyone on twitter demanded that picture but I couldn't show them because, well my nose is not that impressive."

A few minutes later everyone is holding their stomach from how much they are laughing about whatever embarrassing thing they have done in their life but especially about how Blaine can just keep on and on with the tons of things he has done, like he has written down the "100 Most Shameful Things You Should NOT Tell Anyone" and now just recites them as facts. It creates an atmosphere without the barriers of a first get together and whoever Kurt turns to, he can just fall into easy conversation with. The third round of drinks is about to be ordered by someone when Kurt notices his bladder informing him about the previous drinks.

He tells someone to order a coke for him before standing up, determined to find the restroom he hasn't spotted yet. The moment he is up, becomes the moment that his brain first notices how much he's already had to drink. It feels like he is walking very slowly because the floor is no longer a smooth, even surface. And like, if he were less intoxicated, losing his shirt and dancing would not sound like the brilliant ideas he now thinks they are. Fortunately, his need to pee is stronger and he staggers to the bathroom instead. He cannot say if the water to his face after relieving himself is of any help but it's an attempt. A failed attempt, because it takes several seconds to understand that by his return, he is no longer in his old seat but instead sitting at the very end of the couch beside Blaine.

Blaine whose smile is so beautiful on his beautiful, beautiful lips and who is charismatic and nice and Kurt has been single for a while. What had been a bad idea before the first drink suddenly becomes a deep want with the third one and with every flick of Blaine's tongue over his own lower lip. He wonders if Blaine wants to see him dance and lose his shirt. They could dance together, they could also lose their clothes together, Kurt would like that.

"Kurt, are you okay?" The beautiful lips ask, pursed and so ready to be kissed.

"Hm?"

"I asked if you are alright. Do you need to slow down or do you need to go home? I can call you a cab?"

The concern in his voice distracts Kurt from his lips, which he finally realizes are pursed in worry rather than desire. It's very much like the bucket of ice-cold water Kurt needed to try and think clearly. The booze still fogs his mind but he focuses on saner thoughts and Blaine's eyes instead of his lips also vaguely remembers there being a problem with the fact that this is his boss.

"Yes", Kurt says before backpedaling. "I mean, no, I am fine. I was just lost in thoughts."

"Maybe you should stick with soda on the next round. It's no shame, it's just as you and all the other patrons in the bar heard, I am living proof of someone who should have stopped sooner in hundreds of occasions. Have I mentioned the time I drank with my grandma and ended up peeing in her flower pots?"

"You're not like I expected you'd be." Kurt answers, which he assumes is another thing alcohol has induced him to say.

Then again it is the truth. No one is like what he thought he'd have to go on tour with and ultimately bear the presence of. One hour with them has made him feel included and welcome unlike all the crews he has danced with or most people at his old high school. Even Jeff, who is no longer playing on his phone but actually a normal person when it doesn't come to Snake, is someone he can see himself liking. But mostly, it's Blaine who has, from the first second onward, been nothing but kind and so very intriguing. Blaine who helped him and who worries about him and the spikes on his shoulders are not a barrier, they are simply accessories.

"Not the big, bad rockers clichés who never wash or shave, treat women like meat and bathe in alcohol, huh?" Blaine says teasingly.

"No, that is not what I meant. I just, you are much nicer than most people I meet and- alright I was expecting something at least along that line."

That makes Blaine laugh but sadly the sound is drowned out by the loud music so Kurt sees it rather than hears it. "And surely there are people like that but I can assure you, we all are decent human. It's just the kind of music we like and the clothes we wear but that doesn't define us. Surely you can understand."  
Of course Kurt understands and now that it's pointed out he feels even more foolish. He is no less judgmental than the bullies who called him a girl for wearing a red sweater and zebra boots. It makes Kurt slide down the seat in shame and hide his face behind his hands.  
"Ugh, I am sorry. Could I leave a worse first impression than that? First the Banana Split-"  
"I believe it was Banana Slip, my dear friend." Cool hands pull his own away from the face and then one arm settles over his shoulder so that he is pressed closer to Blaine. "And don't worry so much, everyone here likes you." He raises his voice."Right, guys, Kurt is cool?"

"Super cool." Tina screams and slams down her glass with finality and then laughs at herself.

"I think he is hot," Brittany says with a frown."Blainerz and Kurtzy are hot together, too."

Kurt doesn't know how to respond to that so he says, "Uhm, thanks guys."

"I am sorry for, like, being an asshat at your audition, Kurtsy." Jeff slurs next, now very, very clearly intoxicated. "You didn't deserve that! Can you, like, forgive me? Please."

A minute more and he wouldn't put it beyond Jeff to get on his knees and beg, so Kurt hurries to say that it's water under the bridge and it truly is.

"See," Blaine says into his ear after the drunken confessions that led to Mike being praised next. "They all love you. Now you only have to be a good singer and they will gladly replace me with you."

Kurt smiles mischievously, feeling brave."Then kiss your career goodbye because I once won my school the cheerleader championship by singing a Celine Dion medley in French. And if that does not convince you I once had my own YouTube channel where I did song covers, which have thousands of likes. So clearly I am the better lead singer choice."

That makes Blaine look at him in shock and what seems like awe, which is a first for Kurt.

"Agony," Blaine sings and the theatrically clutching hand on Blaine's chest makes Kurt giggle into his neck. Blaine smells good there, like leather and herbs and far too good not to linger a bit. He keeps on singing, making Kurt snap back up. "So much deeper than yours."  
"Musical theater? I am impressed."

Blaine shrugs."My not so secret obsession, yes. One I can apparently spent more time fangirling over once you have taken my position and I'm thrown out of the band. It's okay though, my sweatpants and laptop haven't gotten much of my attention lately, so I think it's about time"

It gives Kurt an idea that he immediately voices, as the filter between brain and mouth has vanished. "I will make you a deal, you will go to a Broadway show once the tour is over and I will keep it a secret that not only do I dance like a god but also sing like a dream and you can stay lead singer. And for now, out of your sweatpants."

"Deal." Blaine holds out his pinky finger and without hesitation Kurt links them together.  
"Deal."

"Kurt, I think this is the start of an extraordinary friendship." The warmth the arm on his shoulder provided, vanishes with Blaine handing him his new drink and then taking his own. "I raise my glass to you."

The word friendship is not exactly what Kurt wants to hear but it does not hurt either, not when someone as awesome as Blaine offers it. A few drops land on his jeans when the glasses clink, and then, with one big gulp, Kurt drinks to this newfound friendship. Over the fifth drink they start to talk about the kind of music they like, most of which Kurt doesn't know apart from the musical ones, which then leads to their favorite play and the story of Kurt's first time to New York and then Blaine's. The drinks are empty when someone interrupts the bubble they had unwittingly built around each other. It's Santana again, who seems to know exactly what she has done if Kurt can still read her expressions well.

"So, not to disturb you two lovebirds but I think it is high time we tell the newbs about our initiation ritual, don't you all agree?"

Despite his lack of clear thoughts Kurt has the suspicion that this forebodes nothing good and his eyes land on Blaine's that practically sparkle in mischief. "Oh yes, I almost forgot!"

"What ritual?" Mike asks and Kurt then realizes that he is now seated next to Tina. He also notices that no one at the table is sober.

Santana claps into her hands then gestures over to the bar. "The ritual in which you two will climb up on the bar and show the people how well you can dance."

The time until it trickles in that they truly expect him to do a cliché stripper move and dance on the bar is spent in blissful oblivion that turns into panic so quick he feels the drinks climb up his throat. A look at Mike shows him that at least he is not alone in that feeling, which slightly calms him because there is no way that both of them will go through with that crazy plan.

"No." Kurt says determinedly. "There is absolutely nothing you can say or do to make me climb up on that thing and dance. Nothing."

Blaine gives his shoulder a squeeze."It's a tradition going back to when we only had four members. Everyone did it and look we still have our dignity intact."

It's only then that Kurt truly realizes that Blaine must have known this the whole time they had talked and bonded and it makes him feel betrayed. He shrugs off Blaine's hand and slides away from him. Kurt gives him credit, when Blaine at least has the decency to look guilty.

"You can't force us to do this." Then, an awful thought crosses Kurt's mind. "Oh god, are we fired if we don't do it?"

"What? No!" Blaine says quickly, holding up both hands in defense. "It's just a silly ritual that is supposed to strengthen the bond of the band."

No longer are the people looking at Kurt with those malicious grins but rather with pleading and hopeful eyes, which lets him drop his crossed arms and sigh. It's not yet a surrender but it is closer to one.

Mike's resolves seem to have lessened as well and he gives Kurt a helpless look when he asks,"What about the bar owners? Won't they kick us out when we do this?"

"That is a problem you don't need to worry about." Nick says, ruffling Mike's hair which the dancer seems to hate. "My brother's the owner and he's used to our stupid stunts by now. I make up for it by babysitting my bratty nephew, so basically you're in the clear. You only need to say yes."

"Please, Mikey, Kurtsy," Brittany says with a pout. "We want you to show off your awesome dance moves together. We'll even play some good music for you!"

If anyone ever asked him later, Kurt would say that agreeing to this was caused by too much alcohol and a lack of telepathic abilities and it was. Looking at Mike through the dim red lighting of the club and attempting to read his mind was a task his intoxicated mind was not capable of successfully managing, so whatever expression Mike wore was just interpreted as pleading but not specified for what. Kurt knows he had chosen wrong when Mike's reply to his screamed proclamation,"Alright, we are in!" is "What the hell?".

One would think that between the table and the bar they could just as easily have changed their minds, thrown up beforehand, or run out, instead of simply going through with it. Nope. They use a bar stool to climb on that long bar littered with glasses, trying not to lose balance and then there is no going back. The fact is, Kurt cannot clearly understand how he has managed to get up here and stand straight on his wobbly feet but he gives Mike's steadying hand the credit.

The first few seconds the whole room seems to stop shouting at each other to be heard in favor of watching the men awkwardly clutching at each other as they are standing on the bar as the loud music fades out. The bartender raises an unimpressed eyebrow that makes the tattoos on his forehead wrinkle, but the patrons sitting at the bar seem excited, if hammering their fists on the bar, hard enough to make it shake, is anything to account for. That is when a new song starts, e-guitars setting in with a familiar tune and suddenly there is no turning back. All Kurt can do is helplessly look into the crowd of new acquaintances, spot several cameras pointed at them but ultimately focusing on Blaine's eyes. They calm him down just as they encourage him to let go of Mike's hands and take one last deep breath before he struts down the narrow space with a confidence he doesn't actually possess. It's the confidence that his body knows how to move, even if his mind is staggering.

The cheering of the people has become a background noise as everything focuses on the beat of the AC/DC song. He knows that this does not require the dancing he is used to performing but a hands on his body, hips swaying kind of dance. Dirty and messy, rather seen at a strip-club than on any other stage, but somehow his body is just as willing to move to this as it is to classical music. His hands run up and down his own thighs and upper body as he keeps on strutting to the very end of the bar where he crouches down in a miraculously fluid motion. He can only hope that its not just the alcohol making him feel like what he does is sexy. It feels like it as he goes back up very slowly, dragging his fingers up his long limbs. When the chorus blares through the speakers, he turns his back to the crowd, spreading his legs wide and gyrating his hips. Beside him, Mike is placing the air guitar and winks when he sees him watching. By the second verse, Kurt is completely submerged in the song and encouraged by cheers so that he loosens one button of his shirt after the other while his legs move on their own accord and his hips swing from side to side. The crowd breaks out in loud whoops when he steals the shot glass from someone's hands before she can drink and downs it before finally opening the last button and throwing his shirt in the general direction of his friends. He still is wearing a tank-top underneath it but he wouldn't have cared if he didn't right then. He just felt hot and his body by now is moving on its own without him taking notice but he can feel his hips thrust and his arms rise above his head. Dancing alone gets boring after a while so at the last few chords of the song, Kurt is dancing with Mike, mimicking his silly air guitar, jumping up and down motions until the music fades out and they lie in each other arms laughing. Everyone in the bar is cheering or whistling and Kurt feels like he has never happier until he feels a warm hand helping him getting down the bar and sees that it's Blaine. That must be the happiest moment in his life, knowing he could fall and be caught. It's what he needs when his muscles lose the ability to work and he tumbles down against Blaine's chest as if his last attempts at sobriety are all used up.

"Whoa, Kurt." Blaine says, clutching him tightly."That was so awesome! You were so hot up there."

Kurt wants to reply that Blaine is too, Blaine is always hot and he smells good and he wants to dance with him but not dance with him like he did with Mike but closer and in that sexy way, when he is ripped away from his chest by someone. He almost whines because he felt so good and warm with Blaine.  
"Kurtsy!" Brittany yells into his ear, jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh my god, your hips!"

"My hips?"

"Yes," She says as if that explains everything but in his state, it somehow does.

"My hips! Yes!"

Everyone around him laughs and he immediately joins in without a real reason to, because everything just feels right in that moment. So right that he is not even protesting when everyone orders drinks but the only thing he gets is a coke. He's happy with that, slightly spinning on a barstool while he grins around the pink straw he has gotten and listens to the chatter surrounding him. This is the best night of his life, seriously.

"And the best night of your life is not even over." Blaine answers, making him realize that he must have said that out loud. Weird. "Do you want your shirt back?"

"Blaine!" Kurt screeches, giggling when his soda drips onto his shoulder after he has thrown his hands up. "You have my shirt!"

Blaine sways a bit where he is standing and Kurt thinks that finally he is not the only one who notices the room spinning."Yup. I caught it."

"My hero."

"To the rescue."

Kurt can't stop himself from launching himself at Blaine in an over-enthusiastic hug before reluctantly taking his shirt from his hands. He contemplates not putting it back on. Blaine thought he was sexy without it, he said so, but he already tries to help Kurt get his arms through the sleeves. It takes far too long thanks to their lack of coordination. They leave the buttons undone because frankly they would not have managed doing that, not even with combined power.

"I think this is the best night ever, too, Kurt." Blaine says while he watches Kurt spin on the stool for a bit, looking jealous of his fun."We will make sure to never forget this. It's something I want to think of when I am sitting in a retirement home."

"Something we can tell our kids." Kurt agrees. It instantly makes him wonder what their kids would look like, but he thinks that maybe it's a bit early for thinking that far. They need to have sex first which Kurt is really, really down for - but they are two men and men can't have babies that way. Which is a pity, they'd be beautiful.

"Uhuh!" Blaine downs another drink and then focuses glassy eyes on Kurt. "We should so take a photo. Right? A photo of us? A first best friend's photo?"

"Oh my god, yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

The room sways from side to side when Kurt stands to extract his phone from inside his very tight jeans pocket and not even stopping when he flops back down onto his seat. He chuckles when Blaine rights him before he can slip off the smooth leather surface. It takes some time to remember how the camera works but when it finally does only Kurt is visible on the screen.

"Come closer, Blainey." Kurt says and then watches as inch by inch, Blaine appears beside him.

Blaine's eyeliner is a bit smudged and his hair is a little messy and Kurt's cheeks are cherry red from the alcohol and his hair actually looks worse but neither of them notices when they grin into the front camera and snap their first photo. Many follow, at least 6 looking the same, before Blaine starts pulling funny faces and Kurt joins in after three more photos of him goofily smiling. The last one, before Kurt's phone beeps as a sign for the battery running low, is of them laughing so much, tears are gathering in their eyes. Blaine instantly gives him his number so that Kurt can send them to him and once he has received them, he uploads one to twitter with what both think is such a witty text. Then they upload another and, because why not, a third.

"What is our ship name?" Blaine asks as he writes the text for the third tweet. He looks very puzzled, mumbling unintelligible words as stares at Kurt.

"Our what?"

"Our, like, ship name? A mash-up of our names because people must ship us. We're best buds now and people will need a name for best buds. It's a rule, it's in the rule books of rules." Blaine then nudges the tip of Kurt's nose with his index finger and laughs when Kurt goes cross-eyes."Hmm. Kurty and Blainerz, ship name - Blainerzkurty. That is way awesome!"

"No!" Kurt protests."That is so uber lazy. Super uber lazy! It's just our names strung together. How about, KurtBlaine?"

Blaine puts his drink down, intensively thinks about it, then says,"How is that different from what I said?"

"It's my name first, and it sounds prettier. Like, like a flower. A KurtBlaine flower."  
"Naw! We are so rockers, we need a badass name, like," Blaine is silent for quite some time, so long that Kurt almost forgets what they are talking about, when he finally says, "Blurt!"

Kurt wraps his head around it, decides that it sounds disgusting like a fart and a burp and violently shakes his head. It makes him feel all fuzzy and his stomach rumble , so he stops quickly and holds onto Blaine's arm for steadying.

This name will not stand. He liked the flower name though but Blaine doesn't."Kuiane? Blairty? Klaine? Kublaine? Blart?"

"Awesome, yes." Blaine cheers.

Kurt nods, then frowns."But which one of them?"

Blaine rubs his forehead like it hurts thinking so deep thoughts and Kurt can sympathize, he feels the same. "All of them."  
"We can't take all of them, that would be selfish." Kurt chews on his straw for a while. "What does the rule book of rules say?"

Blaine looks confused, which makes Kurt think that he has made the whole rule book thing up. He weakly punches Blaine's arm for lying but doesn't say that he has figured his lie out. Because Kurt likes this shipper name thing. Don't people ship others romantically as well?

Blaine rubs his arm with a pout before suddenly lighting up and whipping his head around to Kurt."We should so ask my fans for a ship name. Oh my god, I am brilliant. Genius brilliant!"

That is exactly what they do while posting the third picture and they read the first few suggestions that are submitted just seconds after posting. Awesome, even though they are mostly ideas their brilliant minds have already said. So, when that gets boring they just return to taking pictures, this time with Blaine's phone and incredible features that make them look like comic figures or like heroes of film noir. Kurt likes the black and white filter the best but Blaine is being a meanie and always takes picture with the comic one, because he says it makes him look all villain-y. He is right though, Kurt thinks when they look at the new photos after taking about sixty, four of them with the bartender in them as a bonus.

"Oh, oh, that one is so good as well." Kurt says between uncontrollable giggling."Upload that one, too. Upload it, I look like a piggy." Absentmindedly he starts stroking the screen above the picture of Blaine. "And you, so pretty. You look so pretty on it."

"Yes! Another one!" Blaine agrees.

It is to their greatest pity and later, deepest gratitude, that Nick takes a hold of Blaine's phone then and deletes the tweet before it is uploaded. He looks stern and far too sober, which puzzles Kurt because this is the best night ever. Why isn't he feeling like this is the best night ever? After all it is the best night _ever_!

"Okay, that phone is confiscated until you are sober enough to regret the other tweets of the night, Blainerz." Nick says, in a tone that also is not very happy."Most of the guys have already left so I will hail call a taxi for you two and make sure you get home safely, alright?"

Kurt looks around then, confused as to where most of his new best friends have gone. Why did they not say goodbye, or did they? He is not sure but he vaguely remembers Tina hugging him at some point. Now, only Nick, Jeff and Mike are left of the circle that had arrived and that surprises Kurt.  
"No, I want to stay," he still protests, which makes Nick roll his eyes."I haven't even danced with Blainey."

Blaine cheers, raising one fist."Right!"

"Come on guys, this is only the first night of many. Once were on tour you will dance together every night."

Blaine looks at Nick, his head cocked to the side in thought, before slowly nodding. He turns to Kurt then and runs his hand up and down his back. "Yeah. Kurt, we will dance every night."

"Every night." Nick says and moves to help Blaine off his stool, placing one arm over his shoulder as he stands. "Mike, can you help Kurt out?"

"Sure."

Seeing that Blaine is going, Kurt has no more reason to want to stay so he lets Mike support him as they stagger outside. Maybe Nick is right, maybe this was just the best night for now. He would like that. What he does not like that much is the fresh air outside knocking into him like a punch to his head and wow, he really is drunk. Much drunker than he thought he was.

They are lucky that the cab stops for them quickly and agrees to take three of them home, since Nick is determined to make sure they get there instead of the next bar. All three of them are pressed into the backseat, Blaine in the middle and Nick and Kurt on the outside. Kurt is grateful for that because he gets to sit beside Blaine. The rush of alcohol has now dwindled down to a numbing buzz that makes him tired but also urging him to talk. So he does, all the way through New York's busy night and about everything and anything. Blaine seems to like it because he cheers whenever Kurt must say something very intelligent. He seems to like Kurt's philosophical ramblings about "the big apple being a metaphor for the food-chain industry" because that is when he cheers the loudest. On the other side of the car, Nick does not seem amused but Kurt does't care. Not when he can lean his chin on Blaine's spiky shoulder when he gets really tired.

"You know," Kurt mumbles into Blaine's leather jacket, "I really like you. Like, more than I thought I would. You are so nice and warm. Like...like...a bear."

"Bears are nice and warm."

Kurt raises his head then, looking at Blaine until their eyes lock. "Do you like me?"

He shudders when Blaine cups his neck and starts stroking one up and down. The skin he touches turns hotter with every brush over his fingertips and Kurt's eyes find their way back to Blaine's lips. They still look pretty in brighter light but he thinks they are very lonely.  
"Of course." Those lips say and they turn Kurt's insides just as hot. "You are so awesome, Kurt. So super awesome."

Kurt can't help but move his head closer. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Totally!"

It's all the encouragement Kurt needs to lean in and press his lips against Blaine's. It's off center and a bit too wet after they have figured out how to move so their noses are not in the way, but it feels right to Kurt. Blaine's hand is still cupping his neck and he is just about to open his mouth further because he wants to taste more of him when suddenly all he kisses is air. No Blaine, no lips, just air. He opens his mouth, expecting to see Blaine lean back in when what he actually sees is a mix of confusion and regret on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed while he touches his lips in wonder, while Kurt stomach begins to lurch.

"Kurt?" Blaine asks."Did you just kiss me?"

His brain is completely fried but even in that state he can sense rejection before it crushes into him, so he does not say anything. He suddenly feels really sick.

"Kurt, I like you, you are so awesome, but we should be best friends, you know? We can kiss on the cheeks though, that is always nice. Don't you think that is nicer?"

This time Kurt does reply, in a way. The cab barely comes to a stand near a sidewalk, after he has ripped open the door and finally throws up onto the pavement. Not once but twice, does he empty his stomach, all the while trying not to hear Blaine's worried voice asking if he is alright. Of course he is not alright. Nothing feels warm to him any longer with the air outside rushing into his burning lungs. He suddenly feels very cold and sick, like all the magic has vanished and left him with the smell of his own vomit and the shake of his limbs.

"Do you feel better?" Nick asks him after Kurt's stomach has calmed enough to make him stop heaving.

He wipes his mouth, closes the door."I just want to go home now."

"Kurt, I-" Blaine starts but is interrupted by Kurt.

"I want to go home now. I just want to go home."

Later, in the safety of his slightly spinning bed, Kurt regrets ever having auditioned for the band.

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 2 hours**

**THIS. NIGHT. ROCKS. AND. ROLLS **

**#newbiesritual #actualstrippinginvolved**

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 44 minutes**

** KEHdancing Hummel+Anderson firss best friendz pic. tres chic, chic. #buddyalarm**

**Pic-twitter-HDKS23**

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 43 minutes**

**We shouldd be modells. Like, runway material, right guys? #ourfaceees**

**Pic-twitter-****HDKT43**

* * *

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 41 minutes**

**Okyy, hands down, best best best. #whazourshipppername #hesaysKublaine **

**Pic-twitter-****HDKU12**

* * *

**Boomclocc #phenomsysysy . 40 minutes**

**#Plainerzrock WE NEED MORE MIKURT! WHERE IS MIKE?**

* * *

**Mellany! #melllovesphenomenon . 40 minutes**

**Adfjsdgf. KUBLAINERZ! RT Plainerzrock: Okyy, hands down, best best best. #whazourshipppername #hesaysKublaine **

**Pic-twitter-****HDKU12**

* * *

**Jiandro #BlainerzmarriedSantana . 40 minutes**

**YOU BELONG WITH SAN! BLAINTANA 4eva! RT Plainerzrock: Okyy, hands down, best best best. #whazourshipppername #hesaysKublaine **

**Pic-twitter-****HDKU12**

* * *

**Meauw #kittycatcatcat . 39 minutes **

**KLAINERZ! KLAINERZ! *-* RT Plainerzrock: Okyy, hands down, best best best. #whazourshipppername #hesaysKublaine **

**Pic-twitter-****HDKU12**

* * *

**Eatthatfairies #hateblogforsuree. 39 minutes**

**Fucking fags omg ew. RT Plainerzrock: Okyy, hands down, best best best. #whazourshipppername #hesaysKublaine**

**Pic-twitter-****HDKU12**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz. 38 minutes**

**#Plainerzrock #KEHdancing DRUNKBLAINE! My heart, I ship you the hardest, you look so good omg. #Klainerz #callingit #sckitbitchescallingdibsonthatname**

* * *

**Mercedes #Mercstar. 9 minutes**

**#KEHdancing You have some explaining to do when you wake up! And we all know that the shipper name Klainerz will stick, seriously!**

* * *

_(Urgh I hate the formating on FFN -.- The twitter posts are now messed up, sorry.)_

_Please let me know what you think. All the love to all of you 3._


	2. You give Love a Bad Name

**_For Leo. Thanks to the amazing afterdalton for betaing. 3_**

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

**Blaine Anderson #PlainerzRock . 5 hours**

**Kick off for our Rise Tour tonight. Already wearing stageclothes! SanFran u ready for some rock?**

* * *

**Kurt H #KEHdancing . 4 hours**

**First night dancing in a sold out stadium, hope I don't actually break a leg. #RiseTour #CA**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 53 minutes**

**No Klainerz pics in months T_T. WE WANT KLAINERZ! If we get nothing from the concert I'll turn stalker.**

* * *

The last few chords of the e-guitar ring loudly through the arena and Blaine and the background vocalists harmonize for the final performance of the night while Kurt dances around them. It's a choreo with a overall little movement other than his gyrating hips and lots of bending while walking, but by the end of it Kurt is still heaving out deep breaths. By the last note, Kurt has slid with his knees on the floor, bent backward with his shoulder blades touching the tip of Blaine's shoes looking upward at him. Then the stadium erupts in deafening applause and chants of people demanding more.

This is it. The final song for the night is out and Kurt can just lie there, look up at the blue and white lights overhead and let the cheers and screams wash over him. It's a heady feeling, like all the applause is just for him alone so he indulges in it for a little while. The nervousness Kurt had felt since they opened the entrance for the fans is quickly beginning to dissolve. It had crawled in the pits of his stomach, wetted his forehead and neck and dried his throat before he was up and even dancing had done little to shake it. The truth is, Kurt doesn't really know how he well he performed tonight which happens whenever he's in the heat of a performance and gets lost in the feeling of dancing rather than accuracy. That's why he can only hope that he hasn't messed up too badly. The choreo for the four songs in which he gets to dance has gone over in his blood, muscle, and, as Brittany would phrase it, his dancing bones after a month of daily rehearsals. In two of the songs he dances with girls, the other two he dances with Blaine. In rehearsals it was hardly ever Blaine Kurt danced with, so Mike had to substitute, which had not helped their synchronisation. It hadn't helped their 'friendship' either since they rarely exchanged more than the mandatory polite words the few times they crossed paths.

There is little of the best buds left they had decided to be that night in the bar, but that is probably for the better. With all the work they had to put in the preparations of the tour, they also had a good excuse to avoid one another. They actually attempted to talk about issues, well Kurt did, over the phone. Just a curt call about the evening at the bar, with Blaine intending to dispose of this topic, basically a conversation never to be finished, was the extent of it. Kurt supposes it's easier not to develop feelings, when the person you thought you had chemistry with always has excuses to not be where you are.

Band rehearsals and meetings, Kurt understands, but one time Blaine desperately needed to skype with his grandmother once arriving in San Francisco, while everyone else went to celebrate in a bar. It's rather telling when a guy would rather chat with his grandmother than to go out with a group you are a part of. It stings a little, but it's in the area where Kurt always says his ego is located rather than his heart. And really, Kurt can't feel more than that. He barely knows Blaine better than the fans still screaming the band's name after the last tune has long rung out.

Kurt slowly lifts his back from the ground before he sees and takes the hand offered to him. It's Tina, who beams at him in a way he knows he must mirror, because his cheeks have already started aching in this new, good way. He can only try to grasp what it feels like to have his new friends beside him, squeezing his hands as if to say that this is their moment, their applause and they all anchor each other to this reality. Kurt can still hear the chants in the ringing of his ears even after the crowds are long gone and the only sounds surrounding him are the murmur of the people packing up instruments and dismantling the extension of the stage. The band and the other dancers are backstage, changing their clothes or already celebrating, but Kurt does not feel ready to leave the stage yet, because that would mean really turning this night into a memory. He sits at the edge of the stage once the workers are finished and looks in awe out into the stadium that had been filled with thousands of fans until an hour ago. He knows that at some point, there will be a stadium full of people coming for him, chanting his name. He cannot wait for that day.

* * *

**Mellany! #melllovesphenomenon . 1 day**

**THE BACKGROUNDSINGERS! Fuck tell me the names I need to fangirl! #**

* * *

**KtotheB #PhenGurl . 1 day**

** KEHdancing , PlainerzRock YOU WERE THE BEST. YOURE DANCING WAS SO HOT! #KuBlaine**

* * *

**Missmaboys #Phenomenonizer . 1 day**

**What happened to Bladrian? I miss them! Their name sounded like baldrian. They were a calming drug guys! #bladiran**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 1 day**

**#Phenomenonizer UNFOLLOWED. EW, ew, ew, how could you? #lolBladrian #lolAdrian #Klainerz**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 1 day**

**I swear they are fucking. God, their heart eyes omfg. If I stalk them I'd deliver some evidence but I just know! #KlainerzIsOn**

* * *

**HomooSapia #HomooSapia . 1 day**

**Was I the only one who felt like 'klainerz' dancing was totally off? No chemistry at all. Totally stiff. Come on #PlainerzRock, get better dancers!**

* * *

"So, has the initial excitement about touring worn off?" Mercedes asks him over the phone while Kurt searches his bags for the lotion he knows must be in there. Her voice sounds quiet and a bit disturbed through the phone. "I cannot imagine you still liking to sleep in a bus with three other people, who all don't know how to handle one Kurt Hummel."

They really don't but it is not like he knows how to handle their quirks either and that is okay. There's messy Tina, singing and breaking stuff while dancing Mike, and Feng-Shui and cat loving Brittany, he has to share the bus with. For now,touring with the dancers is pleasant, if only mastered with a lot of patience and an excessive amount of lint-rollers. Kurt could spend a whole roller on the shirt he finds tucked under his pillow after Brittany's cat, Lord Tubbington, napped on it. Then again it's Tina's shirt, as he finds out seconds later, so her messiness is at least good for something. For now Kurt hasn't had much chances to talk to the occupants of the other buses, mainly the other vocalists Noah, Quinn, and Elliott, or Sam, the man working on the technic. However, he cannot fathom them sharing a bus with a cat and someone who puts their socks on other people's pillows for now apparent reason.

Despite himself, Kurt grins fondly as he puts the shirt on Tina's bed. "It could be worse."

"But?"

"But what?"

Mercedes sighs overly loud into the speaker, which is accompanied with a screeching sound that makes Kurt flinch. "Come on, gimme all the gossip. Who sings badly in the shower? Who farts in public? Who picks up things that fell to the floor and eats them?"

While he can actually answer most of those questions, Kurt decides not to tell. It's an unspoken code of honor not to rat out his new friends, who in turn better not blurt out that Kurt has the impressive skill of burping the musical scale and feels comfortable enough around them to proudly present it. Or that he is the one who believes in the sanctity of the 'Three Second Rule', but he thinks she already knows that.  
"Ew, Mercedes, what kind of gossip-" Kurt starts but trails off when he hears strange noises coming from the other end of the line.

It sounds like cut off sentences interspersed with the sound of sharp static and he holds the phone away from his ear because it's beginning to hurt. That at least gives him the opportunity to find out that the cause of the disruption, is the weak reception in the area they have parked in.

"Sorry, I can't hear a thing you're saying." He tells her, hoping she can hear him better than he does her. "Just keep on talking while I'll try to fix this."

Theoretically, there should be an easy solution, seeing as he had just spent a minute talking to her and while there had been minor issues, it had worked well enough. Practically, no amount of jumping up and down, holding the phone up like Simba, or actually crouching down on the floor, turns out to help. Instead, the rustling occurs less frequently, yet never subsiding long enough to understand more than her constant 'hellos' and 'Kurts'.  
"Fuck." Kurt says loud enough to make Brittany, who lies on her top-bunk bed a few feet away, cover Lord Tubbington's ears. When he notices, he waves his phone at her and explains, "Sorry, it's just the phone won't work."

Brittany grimaces sympathetically, before her face suddenly lights up. "Kurt, wait. I heard the closer you get to the yellow shed - the small one that's close to the supermarket - the better the reception. It's from a save source, right Lord Tubbington?"

The cat meows in return and Kurt is pretty sure that Brittany implied the cat told her about the shed, which does nothing to reassure him of the truthfulness. It's worth a shot though, because between rehearsals, the next performance, and bonding with his new friends, there is not too much time left to talk to his best friend. Kurt's lips form a thank you and he waves goodbye to Brit, before he is headed out of the large bus. The Californian summer heat engulfs him immediately. In the distance he can hear people talk and laugh, and someone playing the drums. The secluded area they have parked in, feels much more comfortable than he had expected it to. He knows that he could go over to whomever is playing and be included, and he can't remember the last time he felt like that. Maybe in Glee club all those years ago, always sitting beside Mercedes and Finn, but knowing he could choose to sit between any of his other friends. All the hassle with Blaine, the quirks of his bus mates and the bad reception feel trivial weighed against the happiness he has finally found.

"Cedes?" Kurt asks, shielding his hands against the sun. He spots the market and the shed in the distance, dreading to walk that far without sunblock on, but prepared to take the risk.

"Yes? -Urt, we -ld -up?"

He squeezes his forehead in frustration but then steps out of the bus's shadow and toward the shed. Halfway there, he notices that it feels further away than it looked, but at least he understands more of what Mercedes is saying over the loud static noises.

"Hello? Can you hear me better now? Hello?" she says agitatedly. "I swear I will fly out to California just to throw your phone into the ocean. Or I will just finally hang up. I told myself I would hang up and yet here I am, still talking to myself because I am that good a friend. Hummel, if you hear me right now, know that you can never make up for that. I am in the park, people hear me talk nonsense into the phone. It's not that crazy for New York but it's a little too crazy for me. I'm literally repeating this for the hundredth time, and now this lady is looking at me very pityingly. I am talking on the phone lady, I actually am."

Kurt laughs out loud, imagining her sitting on a bench in Central Park while people swerve right in order not to pass by her closely and her screaming at a woman. He wished she could be here, melting in the heat with him.

"I can hear you better now." He says quickly, so she does not actually hang up. "It's still bad enough that I can pretend not to have heard you say that I owe you, though."

"Finally," Mercedes screams. "Oh and yes boy, you owe me one."

"Hey, I am probably getting a sunburn for you by walking to the shed with the rumored magic reception, cut me some slack."

The heat of the ground has long penetrated his thin shoe sole. It feels like he is walking on coals, while his head is ready to boil over and spill over to cook on the sand. At least now that Kurt is close to the little shed, Mercedes' voice is received without the annoying background sounds, so while he is left hobbling the last steps to it and looks ridiculous, she will be the one appearing sane. They are even now.

"I will only cut you some slack if you put out with some good old gossip."

Kurt falters in his step, guessing where this would go and hoping he can divert before it takes a turn for worse. "Uhm, alright here it goes. Mike sings while cooking and let's just say he is much better at dancing, and I found one of Tina's shoes hanging above our door-"

Mercedes stops him. "Kurt!"

"Yes?"

"We both know you are avoiding what I obviously want to know." He mentally sees her raise one eyebrow. "And I will now take the opportunity from you to delay this any further from you, by stating that I want to know if you've talked to Blaine."

There's no use in saying he doesn't want to talk about it, he knows her too well to think he actually stands a chance. Mercedes Jones has been his friends for ten years now and they tell each other everything, no matter how embarrassing or sad. It's how he knows that she has two moles beside her left nipple and how she knows that it has been over a year that Kurt has had sex. There are exceptions of course and they would never press if they felt like the other wasn't ready to talk but there are very few. It's because, in moments like this, when he feels like he is pressured to talk, he always notices that he needs to get it off his chest.

"Sadly not much to tell on that part," Kurt admits. "After the concert we were the only ones not drinking and when we ran into each other, he said 'Good dancing tonight' and I said 'Uhuh. Good singing' and then we nodded for far too long and turned around to talk to others."

"You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding. I thought you had resolved the tension after that phone talk."

Kurt tugs on a few loose hair strands. "That's what I thought, but this was actually the longest conversation we had in weeks."

"I don't get it. Either he has feelings for you and thinks you don't or he lied to you about having forgotten about everything that happened that night. What else could cause this awkwardness between you?"

Kurt is sure that it's not the former because was rejected by a drunk, and likely horny, Blaine after the kiss, so he can rule attraction out. The second option is what has him puzzled since the morning he woke up, hung-over and sadly with a lot of embarrassing memories and one video of him dancing on the bar counter sent to him by Brittany with a winky smiley. Still in bed, Kurt had called Blaine. It felt like the right thing to do then, if he wanted to save face and maintain an amicable relationship with his boss. Blaine hadn't picked up at the first two tries, probably asleep, judging by the tired sound of his voice when he finally answered at the third.

"I- yeah?" Blaine had asked.

"Blaine, uhm, this is Kurt."

A rustling sound was heard, then the voice came back much clearer and alert. "Kurt, hi."

Kurt's stomach had not settled by then, especially considering that he had to soldier on by himself as Blaine was not saying anything more than that. "Sorry to call so early, I just felt like we should talk about last night."

"Last night." It was a statement, not a question.  
"Yes, I had too much to drink and I know I said some embarrassing stuff and I did things I am not proud of now that I am sober and hung-over. What happened in the taxi-"

"Listen," Kurt was interrupted. "You don't need to apologize. Actually, last night is kind of a blur from the moment we made you dance on the bar onward. I just remember drinking and I saw the pictures we took on twitter but other than that it's a total blackout. Anyway, you don't need to apologize, it's not like I remember."

"Oh," Kurt said dumbly, "Oh, right, right."

"So, we good?"  
"Totally."

In fact, they were anything but good after Blaine had hastily hung up on him. Kurt should have been perfectly fine with that, grateful even, because that meant he didn't need to explain that the kiss was a one-time slip or that he was sorry. It was an easy way out and since all Kurt felt was simple infatuation for the rock star, getting brushed off should not have been disappointing. That it somehow is disappointing, constantly gets on Kurt's nerves, but mostly he shuns such thoughts. The one person he could not keep this from is currently on the phone with him, coming up with more explanations for their stalemate.

"Or he is embarrassed because he thinks he forgot something important." Mercedes rattles on. "Or he has six boyfriends on his side and is scheming how to squeeze you his tight schedule."

"Or we are both just doomed to forever be awkward around each other, which is really bad because it felt a little off dancing with him yesterday."

Mercedes makes a humming noise."If it makes you feel any better, the fans did not feel like you two were off. There was a small riot on twitter and yes, praise my foresight, most are tagged with Klainerz."

That does not make Kurt feel any better, because it reminds him of the hundreds of new followers he has and the creepy tweets he receives daily. "Most tweets of them are disturbing.I recall some tweets about how our zodiac signs correlate, which I am pretty sure is not even accurate." He says, only then noticing that he is finally a mere feet away from the shed. "One guy always calls us his babies and newlyweds, if that is not creepy, what is?"

She clears her throat, before saying, "May I remind you of the time you read NPH and David Burtka fanfic? How is it any different from your fans and their shipping?"

The blush on his cheeks he can blame on the sun, even knowing that it is likely caused by the reminder of darker times.

"That's different." He says confidently. "Blaine and I not together. In fact we are so very, veeery far from it."

"Oh, but that is something you'd change in a heartbeat if you could."

Kurt gladly takes cover in the small shadow cast by the shed, leaning his back against the warm wood. There is a little truth in what Mercedes says but he cannot even admit that to himself most of the time. While there is undeniable chemistry between them, two substances bursting up in heat when he looks into Blaine's eyes, Kurt is still far from falling for him. The distance they've been keeping recently may be the key for it to remain that way.

"Stop it, there is nothing going on. I am pretty sure I am just kept as a dancer because another audition was just inconvenient."

"Nonsense. You work so hard on your dancing and you know it. They'd be the biggest fools if they fired you over this."

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that Blaine seems to dislike me ever since that night."

"I am telling you, Blainerz hasn't forgotten that kiss." Mercedes says with conviction. "He is just pretending."

Kurt looks into the covered window of the shed, seeing his reflection. He turns away. "What if he does remember it? Wouldn't that just mean that kissing me was so repulsive that he'd rather pretend it didn't happen than to risk me admitting that I liked it?"

"So you did like it." She screams but quickly stops herself when she reads his mood, noticing his silence. "Sorry. So, what now?"

"I don't know. I just want to get along with him. I could use a good friend who understands."

She must know how he means that, after all she has seen him grow up, seen him be different from the kids in Ohio and she had similar problems, since she was one of the only black kids at school. That night, he had felt like he and Blaine, as different as the rocker seemed, were alike. Too bad that he'd never have the chance to truly find out.

"What if you tried to talk to him once more?" Mercedes suggests. "Just you two, at some place where he cannot have an excuse to run away to."

"And where would tha-"

That is as far as Kurt comes, before he jumps a little in shock as he hears steps from behind him and turns to see none other than Blaine walk around the shed towards him. The sheepish look Blaine wears, makes him look guilty, as if he is not as surprised to see Kurt as he is to see him. Blaine raises his phone to show him and shrugs.

"Kurt? Is it the reception again?"

"No, uhm, sorry." He hurries to answer Mercedes, turning away from Blaine. "I just ran into Blaine and-"

"Blaine? Oh my god, I am hanging up right now. Go solve whatever it is between you, hopefully with some sexy time and then call to tell me. I repeat, call me after - right after. No delay."  
"Mercedes!"

She laughs loudly. "Just, I don't know. Tell him I had a...dishwasher emergency or something. You'll think of a better excuse. Bye."

For a while he stands there, still uselessly holding the phone to his ear long after she hung up, in favor of immediately facing Blaine, who is not stupid enough not to get that they were talking about him. Blaine is not stupid enough to believe such excuses. He can't be.

"Her, her uhm, dishwasher just had an emergency." Kurt hastily tries to correct himself, "I mean, it broke so that was an emergency and she had to hang up to call a mechanic."

Blaine smiles down at the ground, suppressing a laugh. Kurt is stupid, so very stupid.

"That's too bad." Blaine finally says to break the silence. "I just, I came here because there was is no reception anywhere else."

Kurt nods. "Me too."  
Just like that the silence is back, loaded with the awkwardness of the last few weeks but with no way to be averted this time. It almost feels like a thick entity weighing Kurt down and with it, his tongue, before it can blurt out more embarrassing excuses why he suddenly hung up when seeing Blaine.

"Kurt, I-" Blaine starts at the same time as Kurt says, "Have y-". That, as always, leads to the polite insisting on the other speaking first. Blaine gives in first.

The wringing of Blaine's hands is the only thing revealing his nervousness, which in turn calms Kurt slightly. His eyes flicker up to Blaine's, which leads to both of them swiftly glancing away like they both intended to make this moment even more awkward than it already was.

"I should head back." Blaine looks to where the busses are parked, rocking on his heels. "It's just that we still have to plan the charity concert and you know how Santana can get when someone's late. It's twice as bad when I'm late. Also I haven't talked to my grandma for some time."

Kurt nods, feeling the knots in his throat wander downward into his stomach. "Yeah, right."

"Alright. We'll see each other at dinner tonight?"

Kurt feels embarrassed enough he'd agree to anything to get Blaine and the awkwardness of this as far away from himself as possible. That's why his initial instinct is to say 'sure' and then wait until Blaine is far enough away before he can leave too. It's already on his lips, before he stops himself as another thought crosses his mind. This, all of this, is not his own fault. He did make their easy relationship awkward first by kissing Blaine, but he had also been the one to call and try to get it off the table. Blaine brushed it off. Blaine hadn't turned up to most dancing rehearsals in order to avoid him. Blaine sat as far away at the table as he could. And now Blaine very likely has listened in to Kurt's private conversation and is the one fleeing.

Kurt feels validated to be angry and to snarl, "You know what? I'll walk with you. There's something I wanted to talk with you about anyway."

In turn, Blaine looks as shocked as Kurt is at his own courage, and eventually nods. The heat of the sun as they step out of the shadow, acts as fertilizer for Kurt's fury, which is why it doesn't take more than a few seconds of silence before he breaks it.  
"I suppose you heard me talking on the phone?" Kurt asks and doesn't even try to mask his feelings. He wants Blaine to feel guilty.  
"I- yes. Sorry but it was impossible not to."

"Great, just great." Kurt kicks the sand to his feet, happy when the wind carries it against Blaine's jeans. "It's not like you could have come forward when you heard me approach."

Blaine raises his hands. "It wasn't my intention to spy on you or anything, really. I was just too cowardly to come around the shed sooner until I realized it was me you were talking about and I started feeling guilty. I'm sorry."

Blaine does sound sincere and as much as Kurt hates to admit it, that causes him to feel less inclined to resent him. He rolls his eyes at his own easy compliance, but blames it on the quick glance at Blaine's puppy eyes. Damn those eyes.

"What's done is done." Kurt says and trains his gaze on the busses. "It's not like we have any kind of relationship I could ruin further by embarrassing myself."

"Hey, that's not true. We're friends, aren't we?"

Kurt's eyes furrow and he crosses his arms in front of his chest as Blaine's questions circles in his head. The brief moment of peace is immediately crushed.

"Are we, though?" Kurt spits at him, this time not avoiding his eyes but preening when it's Blaine's turn to do so. "Because I can't recall a time you said more than a few words to me since we kissed. And yes, we kissed. Don't dare to pretend again that you forgot. You didn't. It's kind of easy to tell when you can't even look at me, let alone dance with me without stiffening. Do I repulse you that much? Is that it?"

Blaine blushes and his mouth opens and closes. This is all the answer Kurt needs to fasten his pace and leave Blaine trailing behind, while he wishes he could just pack his bags and never return. He has to keep this job though, even if it means touring several months with a man that acts this childish about something as simple as a drunken kiss.  
"Kurt, wait." Blaine calls and he seems to gain on him. "Please, I can explain."

Kurt just shakes his head and keeps on walking. He doesn't even stop when Blaine puts a hand on his shoulder from behind, he simply shrugs it off. It's the distress in Blaine's voice, but foremost the admission that follows that finally make him halt.

"I remember the kiss. You're right. Shit, I remember it, ok? Happy?" Kurt turns in time to see Blaine bite down on his lower lip, before shaking his head. "Fuck, I just thought it would be easier not talking about it."

Weirdly, the first thought running through Kurt's mind is 'this is the first time I've heard him curse', but then he is back on track. "So the kiss was that horrible, huh?"

"No!" Blaine says with a conviction that makes Kurt's toes curl momentarily. It only lasts until Blaine goes on. "No, it's just that admitting that I still know about it would have made everything much more complicated."

"This isn't complicated now? Because not talking is pretty damn complicated to me."

"Kurt, you're not making this any easier by getting pissed at everything I say."

Kurt huffs, and yes, rolls his eyes just to showcase how ridiculous he thinks Blaine is being. Clearly, he is not the one who should be blamed for anything.  
"I just wanted us to be friends." Blaine pulls at the curls on his forehead. "We were both drunk and I didn't want that one slip of yours to be something that you would always worry about coming between our friendship, so I lied. I fucked up, okay? That night in the bar was really one of the best I ever had and I thought if we could so easily be friends that would make everything on tour equally simple. Kissing and then one of us potentially developing feelings, that just seemed so complicated, but take a look at us now. My plan backfired and now we can't even be friends and it's not like I did anything to try and change that in the past month."

His heart is allowed a brief moment of mourning until Kurt reigns those emotions in. It's not a real loss, because whatever feelings he had were for the imaginary boyfriend Blaine could have been and not for the man actually standing in front of him. It was just one night, it was just one kiss. It was a nice fantasy but he prefers the reality, and this reality presents him with a great friendship if he only takes the hand offered.

So Kurt reaches out and says, "I think someone with such bad calculation skills could use me as a friend to stop him from further self-sabotaging. So this is just an act of my utter kindness and selflessness. What do you say?"

Blaine looks up, surprised, but doesn't take Kurt's hand. Instead Kurt finds himself engulfed in too warm, sweaty arms and slowly relaxes into the embrace. If hugs are all he will get out of this friendship ever, he still thinks it's a good deal. Even very sweaty ones.

Once they return to the busses, Kurt finds the sunscreen underneath Tina's jeans, applies it and returns to the shed to call Mercedes. The next five minutes are spent listening to her squeals.

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 10 hours**

**Blainerz'll pull K close after the last song and kiss him because he cant wait anymore. He'll whisper promises of dirty sex and**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 10 hours**

**nowait. B will pretend to show K smt on stage and he will sing him a new song, LOVESONG, and then he'll fuck K hard over the drums. I NEED FICS NOW!**

* * *

**Mintymoo #MooMooMoo . 9 hours**

**#Klainerz URGH. Just stop! You're giving me so many feels…contemplating writing**

* * *

**Dsluve #Blainerzdominance . 8 hours**

**Anyone else get dom!Blainerz vibes? Know what that means? #SubK #DomB #NEEDTHISASAP**

* * *

**Mercedes #Mercstar . 32 minutes**

**At everyone: you won't get any info about Klainerz from me so quit trying.**

* * *

**Mercedes #Mercstar . 28 minutes**

**&amp; you #RusselTheHussel &amp; #hateblogforsuree better keep your homophobic shit away from them.**

* * *

There are things Kurt has learned over the course of the three days he had been on tour that likely are life lessons. The first is to never trust people's smiles. The second is to never assume that everyone looks where they are dancing.

All of those lessons form in Kurt's head as he is panting in the dirt, drenched in more sweat than he had prior to this thought his body could produce, and his whole left side hurting where someone has collided with him. His teeth are clenched tightly but it's still possible to press out curse words, very similar to the ones he hears the body next to him hiss. He blinks his eyes open to see Elliott Gilbert slowly sit up, face in a grimace of pain.

"Kurtsy! Elsa!" Brittany calls and Kurt sees her run over. "Oh my god, what happened?"

What happened is this: Kurt woke up in his bunk this morning, well rested and happy because for the first time this tour had the potential to be great again. Blaine and he had sat together at dinner the night before and they had had a quick talk at breakfast, before departing to their different schedules. Phenomenon had a radio interview scheduled for this day and Brit had mentioned a workout plan. The weather had cooled down slightly, the bus smelled clean, Tina had strewn her clothes onto Mike's bed for a change and all was well.

All was well before Brittany had ordered the dancers, the background singers and Sam - God knows why Sam - to the empty field behind the parking lot for 'Brit's Workout Challenge: Barf Edition'. She had said that with the biggest smile, which should have been a warning. Everyone had taken the title as a joke. Here's a hint they shouldn't have.

All the dancers, even Sam, are used to physical exhaustion and workouts, so while the first twenty minutes of jumping-jacks, squats and sprints were challenging, they were manageable for them. The backing vocalists did not fare as well. Noah Puckerman, a man with an atrocious red mohawk, may act like he works on his muscles every day but he was the first to be yelled into submission by Brittany when he tried to give up during the sixth lap around the lot. The only one of the three who had enough stamina to get through the first phase of the challenge was Quinn Fabray, a petite, pink-haired woman with lots of facial piercings. Elliott Gilbert, the man with tattoo arm sleaves, had panted and heaved through it, barely looking alive.

"Why do we have to be here? We're not even dancers, we just stand around and sing. This is bullshit!" Puck had growled at Brittany, who was still smiling happily.

"Because!"

"Because what?"  
Brittany clapped into her hands. "Because I say so. Now to round two."

Round two proved difficult even to the dancers and more so for the singers and Kurt's request to have a break to grab water was immediately shut down. Considering the still smoldering heat and the fact that he had likely exuded the whole content of the first bottle of water, the third and hopefully last part of the challenge was an impossible task. Only Brittany was still smiling and singing along to the song she put on through a boombox as she showed them a choreo no one else had the power to mirror.  
It was to no one's surprise, least of all Kurt's, that eventually one of them got too exhausted and mixed up which side to jump to. It was just his luck that it had been Elliot dancing beside him and that he is the reason they are currently still trying to breathe through the pain.

"Can you stand?" Tina asks, holding his hand while Mike pulls him onto his feet. "Oh God, do you need a doctor? Should I call an ambulance?"

Kurt shakes his head, which proves to increase the headache forming on his left side. It's Elliott who voices his thoughts. "I think Kurt and I should just go lie down inside for a while."

"Are you sure? You could have a concussion. That happens quicker than you'd think." Quinn says, sounding concerned.

"You could check up on us when you're done?" Kurt offers and already feels better than he allows himself to show, because he fears he will make good on Brit's promise to vomit if he does another lap.

Elliott slings an arm around his shoulder after being helped up. "And we can look out for eachother in the meantime. That also gives us a chance to listen to the interview of the band and report the important parts back to you."

He sounds way too chipper for someone who's supposed to be hurt, Kurt thinks, but no one else looks suspicious. If anything, they look terrified of more training, which picks up Elliott and Kurt are not even halfway to the busses. The boombox wails out the band's song for the umpteenth time, probably drowning out the pained cries of the dancers. Meanwhile, Elliott's arm is still slung over his shoulder, stuck by the heat and sweat but it doesn't really bother Kurt. They haven't had much time to talk, but Elliott is quite handsome, especially with his glasses on and smoothly shaven, and who was Kurt to deny this chance of getting to know him better. Since Blaine is not an option, Elliott may be if Kurt's gaydar is working correctly.

"I am so sorry for being such a klutz." Elliott apologizes when they arrive at the first, bus and pass it. "I swear I am usually not that clumsy but Brittany's workout really wiped me out. Are you badly hurt?"

Kurt grins at him, only then realizing how close their heads are and how the color of Elliott's eyes is beautiful up close. He certainly is handsome and he looks at Kurt like he thinks the same of him, even with his hair plastered onto his forehead and dirt on his cheek.

Kurt's voice is breathy when he says, "No, not at all. Are you?"  
Elliott winks at him."Thankfully not. Can I tell you a secret?" Kurt nods. "While I am truly, horribly sorry for hurting you, escaping the vomit-course means finally having a chance to talk to you. For that I'm glad."

They come to a halt in front of the door to the dancers' bus. Kurt reluctantly steps out from under Elliott's arm, which really sticks to his skin slightly, and presses the door open before looking back at him. It irks Kurt that he can't read Elliott's facial expression to understand the implication.

"And why is that?"

"Because I think we have a lot in common." Elliott replies and before Kurt can process, he is asked, "Can I come in?"

Kurt's mouth is dry and his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth so he just nods and takes the steps up into the bus. For a moment he imagines all the things they could do in so much empty space but his thoughts quickly move on to which of his bus mates would be the least bothered by Elliott lying down in their bed and decides for Tina. Her bed is opposite his and this is his retribution for her scattering problem.

Kurt tells him to lie down on her bed and before lying down on his own, facing the vocalist but closing his eyes. He wonders what time it is, if they have already missed the interview or if it hasn't even started and he almost drifts off when Elliott suddenly speaks up.

"I've been the backing vocalist of Phenomenon to a few charity concerts but this is my first tour with them, you know? It still feels like such a privilege to work with someone as talented as Blainerz. He is an incredible lead but I think what's outstanding about him is his stage presence and his persona. People notice that he is genuine and that he loves what he does. It shows whenever he sings."

Now Kurt is fully awake and sits up to see Elliott smirk and cock his pierced eyebrow. Somehow Kurt feels challenged to up Elliot by complimenting Blaine even more, but he refrains.

"I get what you mean, I feel privileged, too. Blaine really is great at what he does."

"You are, too." Elliott says and his face softens. "The fans are already crazy about you, I've seen the tweets and a lot of them are about your hips and ass. I hope it doesn't offend you when I say that I agree with them. You really know how to move and hot dancers are really what gives the band the last kick."

"Thank you."

"If you ever have time you could give me a few dancing lessons and thus prevent further accidents from happening."

That makes Kurt laugh. "I think I could manage to do that, since it's for the greater good."

"You're right, it's just a favor for the rest of the world."

Kurt startles when Elliott stands up and crosses the few feet between their beds to sit down on his, pressed right next to him. His skin is hot where it touches Kurt's and it feels sticky and suddenly unwelcome. It's not like Elliott isn't nice or handsome, but something feels a bit off. Enough for Kurt to get up and be glad to have an excuse available.

"We should turn on the radio," He says and moves to the little radio alarm clock on near Mike's bed. "Just in case the others really want to know more about it."

"We could just tell them we slept through it and actually talk a bit more," Elliott suggests but by then Kurt has already switched on the device and punched in the radio station. Kurt pretends not to hear his sigh when he sits back down on his bed but leaves a few feet between them, which is easy as he has turned the volume up fairly loud.

The tension he has felt vanishes by the second song the station plays, no thanks to it being the Phenomenon song that he is sure Brittany is still torturing the others with. Elliott and Kurt look at each other when Blaine's recorded voice belts out the familiar lyrics that they both mouth along with, before they start laughing uncontrollably. Kurt's arms then lazily mimic the workout choreo while Elliott chimes in a harmony that is not on the recording and the song is over so much quicker than it was when they were outside, training to it.

"That was-" Kurt starts to say but Elliot interrupts him, a finger to his mouth.

"The interview!"

He's right, the radio hostess introduces the band enthusiastically, naming each member and referring to Blainerz as 'the heartthrob of any and everyone'. Both Elliott and he lean forward, listening closely to the interview. The band talks about the kickoff of the tour after the release of the new album 'Splinters' and a charity concert, which Blaine is overly excited about. Its proceeds go to the WWF, which he says he wholeheartedly supports and the hostess, Katy, comments on the tattoo of the panda on his arm. Kurt wonders why he never paid more attention to Blaine's tattoos and decides he will make up for that later. It's mostly stuff he already knows from there on out, like where else they will have concerts, and how lazy Santana's pug Razor is, and what touring is like, so Kurt's thoughts start to drift away. He thinks about Blaine, about how little he knows him and what their friendship will be like. There's always the potential that they won't like each other in a month, but there's also the possibility that someday he will be there, with Mercedes and him on the couch watching trashy horror movies in 2031. Kurt is still thinking about 'what ifs', when his ears pick up the word 'Klainerz' that immediately alerts him and he begins to listen carefully.

"- fans have come up with after you posted a picture on twitter of you and one of your dancers." Katy says and immediately the band begins to laugh. Kurt thinks he hears Nick repeat the sentence 'you will dance every night, Blainerz. Dance every night.' and Blaine tell him to shut up.  
When everyone has calmed down, Blaine's amused voice answers, "Yes, it seems the name Klainerz has stuck the most of all the to why there even is this rumor, I can just say that it was a very long night and Kurt and I thought it'd be funny to have a shipper name, seeing as we are dancing very intimately on the tour."

"That reminds me of that time people said you and Adrian Jesse were a couple. The hashtag Bladrian trended three times last year alone but since then the rumors have died down." The hostess says. "We haven't heard much of you two for the past few months which is a pity. Can you tell us why that is? Are you still friends?"

It's eerily silent for an elongated moment, where no sound but bird chirping is broadcasted. "Adrian is quite busy working on his career." Jeff says. Then Nick chimes in, "Right, and we're busy with our own tour."

The hostess seems to read the mood and steers back."That is true. For all the fans listening, the show is not yet sold out in most cities and if you need more than their incredible songs to convince you think of all the new, pretty dancers."

Santana laughs. "They are very pretty indeed."

"The two new additions are Kurt and Mike, so there's a lot of room for interesting dance partners. That reminds me, Blainerz,the fans think you and this dancer, Kurt, are an item. So are there, or are there not more juicy details for all the Klainerz out there?"

Blaine huffs. "Let's just say that Kurt and I are very close and that it never hurts to believe in some things."

Elliott looks at Kurt, he know because he can see it from the corner of his eye. He also knows that his cheeks are cherry red, but he has yet to decide whether he is just flustered or excited. 'What?' Elliott mouths at him and Kurt just shrugs his shoulder in return.

The hostess laughs and says,"Wow that sounds promising. Any messages for your fans?"  
The band members answer by thanking for the support and by hoping they'll see them at their concerts, but it's Blaine's answer that sticks out.

"Never quit believing guys."

Kurt pretends to be in on the joke with Blaine when Elliott asks him outright what this meant, but is glad when he finally gets him to go to his own bus to lie down after a few tense minutes. He wants to be alone to mull over those two simple sentences, said so casually by Blaine and still possessing so much weight. Even after an hour he doesn't come to any reasonable conclusion as to why Blaine would give the fans fuel after completely shutting down any hopes of them being more than friends, but he is really curious as to what Blaine has to offer as an explanation. His phone buzzes with a message from Blaine that says "Meet me at my bus in 10?'

* * *

**Moi #neverquitbelievingguys . 3 minutes**

**asjdhksadhjd. MY HEART! They are a couple! BLAINERZ WANTS ME DEAD! #HeyKlainerzIhavethebetterusername**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 3 minutes**

**HOLY SHIT! HOLYYY SHIT! I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU! TREND IT! #neverquitbelieving**

* * *

**Klainer #Klainerz . 2 minutes**

**#neverquitbelievingguys At least tag me if you want to start this bitchfight. #originalKlainer #ujealousbitch**

* * *

**Meauw #kittycatcatcat . 2 minutes**

**KLAINERZ RIOT! It is on guys. celebratory fic anyone? Klainerzfics ? #neverquitbelieving**

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**Ruzz #RusselTheHussle . 2 minutes**

** 104.4radio It's in the middle of the day. Kids could listen to this fag talking about having fag sex. Is that even legal?**

* * *

**Klainerzfics #Klainerzfics . 1 minute**

**GUYS GUYS GUYS. Of course we'll write something. Find our fics here -**

** /Zfjh1enT232**

* * *

Kurt does wait for him at the band's bus, even after fifteen minutes have passed. With every additional minute he just gets more frustrated as his head still tries to wrap around the interview and the mystery of Blaine. Minute seventeen is when he starts pacing and biting his nails. Minute nineteen sees his fourth nail saved the mistreatment with the approach of steps and chatter. The four of them are laughing until Jeff points to Kurt and Kurt can enjoy the moment the whole group freezes and looks at Blaine, who shoves his hands in his pockets and ducks his head.

"Good luck, pal." Nick says and pats Blaine on his back hard enough to shove him slightly into Kurt's direction. "Sure you'll need it."

Blaine flips him off, then he walks over to Kurt while the rest stay behind. His teeth are worrying at his lower lip again and his shoulders are slumped and he resembles a kicked puppy, which Kurt tries to not be affected by.

"Hey, Kurt." Blaine luckily does not attempt to pull him into a hug like he usually does with his friends. He just stands there and hold up the key to the bus. "Could we discuss this inside?"

Kurt plasters on a fake smile and nods. In return Blaine gives him a grateful look before he unlocks the door and climbs up first. Kurt follows him in. The inside of the bus is basically the same as the one Kurt shares, which is a surprise. He would have thought the band members granted themselves a bit more luxury but apart from a bit more space between the beds, the interior is kept simple. Blaine sits down cross-legged on the bed opposite a window and then pats the space in front of him. After letting him sweat, Kurt sits.

When Blaine doesn't begin to talk right away, Kurt cocks his head and waits. His nerves flutter the more Blaine plays with his bedspread instead of just telling him what drove him to say such things at the radio station. The silence stretches so long that Kurt finally snaps.

"Are you going to explain soon? That is, if there is an explanation for this?"

Blaine looks up at him and sighs. "You heard the interview I assume?" Kurt rolls his eyes, so Blaine continues, "Then this must seem so weird and random to you."

"Yes, Blaine, which is why I came to hear you make sense of this. Because you are right, this is totally weird and random to me." He rips the bedspread out of Blaine's hands and starts fiddling with it. His voice is calm when he says, "You wanted this to not be complicated. You wanted us to be friends and that is not what you implied when you encouraged those Klainerz not to give up hoping on us. What is it that they should hope for? I doubt it's friendship they want to see according to their twitter messages to me."

"I do want us to be friends, Kurt."

"Then why did you say all this? Do you think everythings a joke? It's not to me."

Blaine causes Kurt to look up when he clears his throat. It's obvious that Blaine doesn't want to talk about it but he cannot let him off the hook. He needs to know if there is the tiniest chance that Blaine realized that he'd like to date him. That's why he waits until Blaine feels forced to tell.

"It's all because of the radio host." Blaine admits.

"What about her?"

Blaine lets the back of his head thud against the wall. "I don't know if you listened to the whole broadcast but she asked me about my ex, which she wasn't supposed to."

"Adrian?" Kurt asks, because he needs clarification.

"Yes, Adrian," Blaine snarls. "We dated for a year and we just recently broke up. Or, to be accurate, he broke up with me because I had introduced him to enough people he could use for his own success, so he didn't need me any longer. Now he's dating the boss of another record label and works on his own album. Nice, huh? He left me for someone twice his age and told me he never loved me anyway. Basically he dated me to become famous and now that he has better options I was no longer that useful."

In lack of anything else to say, Kurt squeezes his hand. "I'm sorry, Blaine."

"That little rat rode my coattail to success and when she asked me about him I just didn't know what to say. It was so stupid but I wanted him to hear that I had moved on as well." Blaine explains, looking at Kurt pleadingly. "You were right, my plans suck and I'm sorry I used you to try and make him jealous."

Kurt closes his eyes. There were times when he had been in similar situations, people using him and then dropping him and the need to prove to them that it didn't hurt even if it did. The circumstances may be different but he understands why Blaine did it and he can't say he feels angry any longer.

"Technically, you didn't say we were a couple," Kurt states with a grin. "Also, technically, I am all for making assholes jealous, even if the revenge plan involves using me. And it's not like it isn't flattering to be desired by the heartthrob of the nation."

Blaine looks at him questioningly before his frown disappears and he winks. "Damn right." He gives Kurt's hands a squeeze. "But I am still sorry."

"No need to be," Kurt says. "Our fans will thank you for it. I am honestly a little scared to log into my twitter account."

"Oh, there's a riot alright. I checked while I was riding the cab and I couldn't scroll down through all of it because there were tons. The Klainerz are already planning our wedding. I think I saw a manip of us in matching black suits. We looked very dapper."

Kurt imagines it and laughs. "You know that nothing will convince them now that we're just friends? Every time they see us talk they will say that we are confessing our affection, or, god beware, talking about having kids."

Blaine pokes into Kurt's side."Little Grant and his sister Leo?"

"No, Blaine, we talked about this." Kurt slaps off his hand. "We only want one child. What will the fans think about us bickering so early in our relationship?"

He waits for Blaine to continue joking about this, but when there is no reply Kurt looks over to see him deep in thought. There is a chance that this is part of an act and Kurt wants to say that they had this discussion several times, when Blaine suddenly sits up and grabs him by the shoulders.

"Kurt!" Blaine screams at him, brightly smiling.

"Blaine?"

"The people will never be convinced that all we are is friends, right?"

Kurt frowns. "Yes, I believe that is what I already stated a few seconds ago."

"And are you offended by that accusation?"

He thinks he knows where this is heading, even if that thought would be ridiculous. That doesn't stop Kurt's heart from speeding up.  
"No? I mean, I am single so it's not like rumors could do much harm. All it is, is the fans interpreting things into our actions that are baseless-"

"Exactly." Blaine bounces a little in the bed, causing Kurt to do the same. "The Klainerz will think of us as a couple even if we are not acting like one at all. So what if we gave them a bit more to fangirl about?"

"Where is this headed, Blaine?"

"Well, our tour is not sold out yet, because this album has received a lot of bad critique so we could use some publicity. Simultaneously, I could make my ex jealous with both success and a new potential boyfriend and all it would take is a few vague words and getting photographed together here and there. You said it yourself, the Klainerz think talking means we're in love but what if we could convince others that the rumor may be true?"

While this is exactly what Kurt has imagined Blaine would say, it still feels like his blood is clotting as everything comes to a stasis. He is not sure if he can trust his ears, or trust his brain to understand what Blaine is offering but Blaine is still going on.

"More people would notice you and your incredible dancing as well and maybe the band will have to fight them to keep you. I think it's a win-win. If more people came to see the show, we could pay the staff more and all we two have to do to achieve this, is be friends in public. Just talking or drinking together or a bit of whispering here and there. What do you say?"

Even if it is just dancing in a public club or saying how great they get along when a reporter ask them, it will feel like they are deceiving the fans. Then again they won't ever outright lie to the fans and people assume either way. Kurt stares at Blaine, who looks so hopeful and convinced of his own idea and Kurt is the one who promised to veto every bad plan, which this definitely is, but he cannot bring himself to this time.

"Come on, I think Adrian and the Bladrian fans need a little competition from the much better ship Klainerz, don't you think? We won't even have to kiss or hold hands or anything other than just having fun together. And it will be fun, I promise."

Kurt knows it will be, because it means spending time with Blaine. They could end up falling for each other like people do in rom . That doesn't happen in real life. At least he thinks it won't happen to Blaine, which points to him being alone in this if he falls. Kurt wants to say no. He really does.

"As your advisor, I declare this plan as ludicrous." Kurt watches as Blaine's whole body deflates. "Which is why I don't know why I'm agreeing to it."

"Really?" Blaine asks and before Kurt can answer he is already tackled onto the bed.

What's the harm in pretending, if lying in each other's arms on Blaine's bed is already included in their friendship? There won't be much acting needed to convince people that there is more going on between them, Kurt thinks.

* * *

**KlainerzFics**

_**Shot through the Heart**_

_Summary: When Blainerz gets to the hotel after the radio interview, Kurt wants to know if he meant what he said. Blainerz isn't good at talking so he shows Kurt with his tongue, all alone in his bus, all alone in his bed._

_Rating: M_

_Warnings: Bondage, Dirty Talk._

_There were three knocks to the door. Rapid. Urgent. Angry. Blainerz knew that no one could misinterpret the slip-up he had done at the interview and that it would affect his whole life, but that didn't bother him. It was Kurt whose life would take a 180 degree turn. The paps would be lurking for them at every corner from now on and every normalcy Kurt may have had would be history. That is what he wanted to apologize for as soon as the door opened, but instead he saw Kurt's angry face, his sexy, incredibly distracting scowl and the words slipped from Blainerz' mind. With no words to express, all his lips were good for was kissing Kurt, and kissing Kurt he did, Blainerz' tongue writing letters against his. __  
__(Read more)_

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**Thanks for the people who reviewed and liked this story. **  
**I'd love to hear your thoughts/wishes/critique.**


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